From Darkness, Comes Liberation
by The Reaper of Insanity
Summary: They've taken everything from me: my home, my family, and even you... I don't care what I have to do, I'll have my revenge and find you again. I always have and I always will. I'll find you soon Rose, come hell or high water, that is a promise. -Emily Branwen, journal entry 02. Story with an OC as a main character, set in KHII. M for language and violence. No OCxSora/Riku/etc.


**A/N: Hello peeps, I've decided to branch out of my comfort zone and write something besides RWBY. Now, Kingdom Hearts is one of, if not, my Favorite game franchises, especially Kingdom Hearts II (because childhood). How this relates to the story below? Well, it's set in KH II and, this has an OC as a main character so if that doesn't exactly tickle your fancy, then you can read other goodies that don't have an OC.**

 **Speaking of that, My OC will not be overpowered, nor will she be aligned with any one side (I.E. Good, bad, etc.), at least not immediately aligned with a side. Yes, I said she. Now I bet you're thinking "but Reaper! How do you write from a woman's view when you are a dude?", easy, Sierra is actually a major help here and wrote about half the chapter. When I asked her why not make a profile and write on it on her own, she said something along the lines of "too lazy, fuck that".**

 **S: Eh, what can I say? I don't like extra work if i can just go halvseys on this with you**

 **Fair enough... Anyway my OC will probably be a dick half the time or sarcastic at the bare minimum, you know, because she has to deal with monsters made of darkness itself hell bent on the destruction of all worlds along with other soul crushing shit. I'm honestly surprised that people make their own Characters happy all the time in these stories. I get it's Disney but come on, people are getting murderized and made into monsters. That's not exactly a happy picture... At all. Anywhosers, onto the story and I don't own Kingdom hearts at all. If I did, I wouldn't have to work to eat ramen on a daily basis. Also, I went and got the 1.5 and 2.5 set for ps4... I feel happy**

Chapter Zero: Prologue

"Come on Emmy! You can do it! Kick his butt!" My long-time friend, Rose, cheered from the sidelines of the arena. I gave off a feral smile as I rushed forward with my tower shield and practice sword. I brought up the shield on my left arm to block my Father from smashing my head in like a pumpkin and retaliated with a stab that he backflipped away from, landing with an impassive look on his face.

"You're still too slow, your shield is too low, and your strikes are still far from being coordinated" He said as he rushed forward in two steps and knocked me out the arena with a much stronger-than-necessary uppercut. I came rolling to a stop a few yards from the arena's edge in a pain filled heap.

"You need much more training Emily. You need to be more like your brother Shawn" My Father said before leaving, all while throwing his practice sword to me. It hit me in the face, effectively knocking me out as it put me in a heavy daze. I laid on the ground for a long time, waiting for Rose to walk over to me. Eventually her waist long, rainbow-dyed hair entered my vision, making me smile a small bit at my friend's concern

"Your dad is a dick, you know that right?" Rose told me as she waved her claymore above her head, casting a Cure spell on me to heal my bruising from the match and from my less than graceful landing. I looked up at her from my surprisingly comfortable spot on the ground with a deadpanned expression.

"No shit Rose" I said, making her give me a pointed look while readying her weapon.

"You know it's rude to cuss Emmy, I have half a mind to smack you for it." She said before a worried look overtook the apparent anger on her face.

"You okay?" She asked softly as she offered me her right hand, the glass bracelet she wore catching the setting sun in its glow.

"I'm fine... Sill don't get why he's so dead set on me being a front line fighter when I excel at the support role." I told her upon taking her hand to be pulled up. I let out a small sigh as I started placing my gear in a nearby locker. I took a look in the locker's mirror on the door and sighed slightly. My long, black hair was covered in dirt and my eyes were red around the already dark red irises, probably from getting something in them. I could feel something tangled in my hair towards the bottom of it

'I really need to cut this soon, it reaches halfway down my back already.' I thought as a untangled it as best I could. I looked in the mirror a little closer to see I already had a bruise forming under my left eye from where I got hit with that practice sword. With a small huff, I grabbed my katana out of the locker and shut it with a slam.

"Maybe he just wants you to 'be more like Shawn'" Rose said in a false manly voice, trying to imitate my dad. I let out a slight laugh and slung my arm over her shoulder.

"Again, no shit. While Shawn is a great front line fighter, he isn't much in the way of support. Speaking of which, you need to work on improving your Cure spell to Cura." I said, earning a exasperated look from Rose.

"Oh yeah? Let's see you cast it!" She said in a challenging tone, nearly knocking me over as she took up a 'Heroic' pose. Her red Low cut V-shirt blew dramatically in the wind that suddenly picked up. I stood up to my full height of 5'7" and gave her a dark smile while looking down at her (it helps she's short (she stands at 5'4") but I'll never tell her that myself, I'm rather attached to this thing called being alive). I checked my black cargo pants for some Munny to make sure I had some on me.

"What's the bet this time?" I asked her, her pink eyes lighting up with a mischievous glint. She danced slightly in place as she got an idea she deemed appropriate, which made her jump up and nearly fall into a nearby fountain, which would have been pretty damn funny.

"How about... 50 munny!" She said excitedly with her hands in front of her face, reminding me of an excited kid, or maybe even a puppy.

"That munny is as good as mine!" I said as I rose the sharp end of my Katana above my head and cast a Cura spell, entirely healing myself and making me the winner of the bet. I looked over to Rose and held out one of my leather-glove covered hands, which was then filled with munny that she begrudgingly handed over, earning a bark of laughter from myself.

"You forget, I'm a natural at magic and have been practicing since I could remember." I told her, making her huff and look away with a pout. She kept pouting as we walked towards her house, up until she froze midstep.

"Rose, what's wrong?" I asked her but received no answer. I waved a hand in front of her face but she didn't even move a muscle, hell, I even smacked her arm and she remained entirely still.

"Knock it off rose, this isn't funny!" I yelled at her slightly afraid. I looked around to see that time itself has seemed to stop. Water from a nearby fountain remained unmoving in the air, a plane basically helicoptering since it wasn't moving from it's current position, and there was even a dog paused in the midst of it's leap to capture a squirrel.

'Poor little squirrel' I thought morbidly, forcing myself to look away from said animal's imminent-but-not-any-time-soon demise.

" _So much to do... So little time_..." I heard a voice from behind me. I turned but no one was there, in fact, every changed behind me. Instead of my town was now a mosaic platform of some people I haven't seen before. What's more is that everything besides the platform (and anything on it) was pure darkness... It was honestly a little unsettling.

"Did I have a stroke or something?" I asked myself as I looked around. I still had my weapon so that was a slight comfort knowing I could at least defend myself in the event something decides to try to murder me.

" _Your heart is strong... But it harbours a mighty darkness_ " The voice said again, sounding closer this time. I looked up and saw a single light, no bigger than the tip of a pen.

" _The light Could be your Savior... Or your Destroyer_ " It said ominously, making me draw and hold my sword in a defensive stance out of sheer nervousness before looking around to see some weird looking black things standing around the edge of the platform... Oh, did I mention they were standing on nothing at all? They were of medium height and had bright yellow eyes that shined through the darkness, and I could make out the very sharp claws they had on their hands from the black background.

" _Choose wisely... For it could save your heart..._ " It said as light shot down from the pen-tip sized source and hit 3 different locations, making 3 platforms rise up from the mosaic: a Katana, a Bo staff, and a Knight's shield.

"Save my heart from what?" I questioned the voice as I walked forward to the Katana and picked it up. The blade it's was dark red, and had elaborate black markings throughout the length of the blade, reminding me of a tribal tattoos I often see on the sailers at the docks on the far side of town. The hilt and hand guard both were a dark black. The hilt itself was rather comfortable, even in comparison to my personal blade.

'Most likely to channel magic into physical attacks' I thought as I stared at the blade, and the longer I stared at it, the more it felt... Familiar.

" _Strength to defeat your enemies... Wisdom of the Samurai... Versatility in everything... Is this the power you choose?_ " The mysterious voice questioned, making me reconsider for a brief moment before deciding to accept this with a nod. The second I did, it burst into a shower of light before sinking into my hands.

" _The dark will be your end... And your beginning..._ " It continued, as the platform I took the staff from sank into a pool of darkness.

" _Now.. what will you sacrifice?..._ " It asked as I did two things. First and foremost, I backed the hell away from the _unnatural_ pool of darkness at my feet. And two, I turned to the Bo staff and picked it up. It was a little plain looking, seeing how it was a basically a big, brown stick

" _Wisdom in martial arts... The ability to support others... Knowledge in spades... Do you wish to sacrifice this power_ _?_ " It asked me but I shook my head and set it down before I walked to the shield and grabbed it. It had a design that reminded me of the Lux star, though rather be than being a 5 point star with hollow lines, it was just an outline of a star and was tinted blue over the black background of the shield

" _Power to defend others... Ever enduring... A knight's best friend... Do you wish to sacrifice this power?_ " It asked me again I nodded yes, making it turn to dust and blow away in the gentle breeze. Both of the remaining platforms sank into darkness, forcing me into a small space of untainted glass in the center of the platform.

" _You have gained the ability to fight... Defend yourself..._ " The voice said as my katana disappeared and the Katana from earlier appeared in it's place in a flash of Dark. Just holding it, I could feel it had an immense affinity against darkness, which is somewhat confusing considering it popped up in a flash of Darkness. I stared at it in awe until I saw the pools vanish from the platform out of the corner of my eye, making me sigh in relief...

Wait... Defend myself?!

I looked at where the black things were to see them running towards me at a high speed. Regardless, they looked like they wanted to make me not alive anymore... How fun. I held the new blade, in a standard two-handed hold designed for parrying and blocking. I looked to my left and right, spotting two of them, making me freeze.

'Wasn't there three?' I mentally asked myself, before being broken out of my thoughts by a sharp pain in my back, throwing myself to the ground in a roll to lash out at the enemy who snuck up on me. I struck it in the head with the flat of the blade, which resounded with a satisfying _Crack_ , sending him/her/it to the ground to fade into nothing. I smirked slightly as I turned to the other two enemies, only to hastily raise my weapon to block one that lunged itself into me. I recovered just in time to block the other enemy that rolled itself... Actually it just flattened into the ground to get around me, which is highly unsettling. I was brought out of my thoughts as the _Thing_ tried to slash me in the ribs with its claws.

"Okay, what is it with you guys and rib shots?" I asked aloud as I swung my weapon like a baseball bat and knocked an enemy off the platform in two separate, into the abyss below. The last enemy didn't take to kindly to that and began lashing out at me from every angle. I blocked most of the strikes but some broke through my guard and left some minor cuts on my arms. It finally stopped attacking and just stood there like it was thinking, giving me time to hit it with a few Blizzard spells. It died after the third spell which gave me sometime to look over my injuries.

'I really gotta practice my offensive spells' I thought as I looked at the cuts on my arms, they weren't very big nor deep so I could leave them for now since it might be a good idea to save some Mana.

" _The path to Destiny lays ahead... Be Brave, for it will be A Dark one... There will be no turning back..._ " The voice said as a mosaic walkway appeared and descended into the abyss below. I gave a heavy sigh as I looked at the path

"Destiny, darkness, and no going back.. sounds like fun" I said sarcastically as I began walking forward with a death grip on my new weapon (that I really need to name). The second my foot touched the walkway, the main platform behind me vanished into thin air and one appeared at the end of the walkway. I continued to walk forward, only to stop at the halfway point of the walkway due to a White enemy appearing, and it was much different from the black ones. It was tall, thin, and it looked like it was made of rubber. Its head was large and had a zipper for a mouth. Atop its head, there was an emblem I've never seen before, but looked too familiar for me to be comfortable with. The zipper opened up and it began stretching in ways that, quite frankly, weren't human and made me back up slightly out of mild fear. It began to strut towards me before slithering on the ground, coiling around me in an unsettling show of flexibility.

"What th- OW!" I yelled (I definitely didn't scream, I swear) as it flicked it legs into my hip, leaving deep gashes and sending me sprawling to the cold, glass floor. I growled as I stood and cast a Cura spell to close the wounds and stop me from bleeding onto the now tainted, once-beautiful, mosaic walkway. I looked back at the enemy to see it walking on air towards me, slashing wildly, forcing me to roll out of the way to avoid being carved into tiny pieces. It continued to press the attack, forcing me to be quick on my feet lest my insides end up on the outsides.

'I need to find an opening or I'm beyond screwed!' I thought as It forced me to the edge of the walkway. I gave a desperate yell as I thrust my weapon up with my eyes screwed shut, the sounds of a spell being cast were immediately made apparent to my ears. With a nervous breath, I opened my eyes and saw a shield from a Reflect spell disperse, sending light into the enemy and killing it. I kinda just stood dumbfounded since it dropped some munny and a little red case, though I wasn't complaining because, Hey... Free stuff. I experimentally willed my new blade to vanish before continuing down the walkway to the next mosaic platform, surprisingly mellow about the whole situation.

'I wonder how I'll get out of here..' I thought dryly upon reaching the next platform... And damn near had a heart attack. The platform was a mosaic of my home, the Castle and clock towers were the main point in the background with the town featured around it. My dad, brother and even Rose were featured in grayed out pictures surrounding the main character in the mosaic.. and it was me... The hell? The walkway vanished behind me and a large door appeared towards the opposite end of the platform though it was transparent in nature.

" _The door is still closed... Tell me what matters most to you..._ " it said in a surprisingly inquisitive tone of voice.

"Well... I'd have to say my best friend, she's what matters the most to me" I said, the door in front of me becoming entirely solid.

" _Do well To protect her... She will save you from the Dark._.." it said as the door cracked open, darkness spewing out from it. I stepped back in pure fear as it continued to open wider, increasing the flow of darkness and decreasing the space I had to stand on.

" _Or she may send you into the deepest abyss... The path is set... Tread with caution.._ " It said as the darkness reached my small island of light and began dragging me into the dark. It felt _Wrong-unnatural-cold-evil_ Which made me fight as much as I could to avoid being overcome by it. I tried to fight it off as it climbed up my legs but it proved useless as I was soon entirely captured by the darkness.

" _Only time will tell if your journey's end will bring pain... Or Happiness..."_

Some time later...

Cold. That's what I felt beneath me as consciousness began to return to me and pull me back into the realm of the living. I opened my eyes and let out a heavy sigh of relief upon the familiar sight of my town.

"I'm so glad that was just a dream" I mumbled to myself as I sat up and looked around to see I was in the central park of town, the sky dark, signaling nightfall... Oh shit

'My dad is going to kill me' I thought dejectedly before getting up from the grass to start my walk to the slaughterhouse (home). The clouds above began to grow dark before they let down a torrential downpour, soaking me to the bone which did nothing to improve my mood about my imminent demise. I continued my long walk until a car drove through a large puddle and splashed me with a wall of frigid water.

'Stupid rain, stupid dream' I thought as I angrily walked to my home. After about a half hour of walking and an endless amount swearing later, I arrived at home though I seriously considered sleeping outside to avoid my death at the hands of my enraged father. Before I could make a decision, the door opened to reveal my father, and.. he did not look angry. In fact, he looked saddened by something.

"Are you okay sir?" I asked him cautiously, ready to bolt in the event he gets violent.

"I know about what happened today; my daughter, I suppose we should talk about it After you get into some dry clothing." He said before walking into house, rather calmly compared to how he would have normally reacted if I came home this late. I walked inside and decided to just change into some old sweats first and shower after the long talk with the man who could easily destroy me. I walked into the small kitchen that my family used and found my father sipping some tea at the table with a cup directly across from him

'Probably for me' I thought blankly as I sat down at the table and picked up the cup before taking a small sip of the sweet tea.

"Have you taken your medicine today?" My Father asked me, earning a nervous shake of the head from myself. With a tired sigh, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a clear vial filled with a dark purple liquid, it bubbling lightly in random intervals.

"You can't forget to take it Sweetheart, it holds back the darkness so it doesn't do any further damage to your heart" he told me sadly before sliding it to me. With a heavy frown, I popped the cork and quickly drank the extremely bitter concoction, nearly getting sick from it in the process.

"Same great taste as always, Old shoe, dirt, and pure lemon juice" I grumbled before chugging my tea to rid myself of the awful taste.

"Ahh... Same great humor as always Emily. I.. suppose I should start at the beginning, shouldn't?" He asked me so I nodded since I was mildly confused about everything.

"There's a long told prophecy in elder council of Daybreak Town, one that foretells the destruction of this world and the beginning of a long journey for the two Children of Destiny. It is said to start when a child of light is turned to dark, and one of dark is forced to take on the role of a Warrior of the Light. That dream you had? It was the signalling of the beginning of the end. And the end of the beginning of your long journey." He said before taking a sip of his drink.

"B-but, prophecies are often wrong, I mean, there has been many prophecies that predicted the end but they were always wrong and what do you mean "my long journey?"." I said a bit frightened by the prospect of the world ending and the possibility of every going to shit enough to force me to go on some Magical Adventure.

"I wish it were the case here, but this one has other prophecies in connection to it, all of them, every last one, became truth in the world we live in. One of them predicted you and your brother's birth, stating something along the lines of 'When the twins of light and dark are born, peace shall regain until the end of the world itself'. We used to be plagued by heartless here, as this used to be a place of training for the Keyblade Wielders before The Great Keyblade War of ages past, it's honestly a miracle this town still exists after the brutality of the conflict. Anyway, Even though we lost the Keyblade Wielders, we continued to train Warriors of Light to combat the ever growing threat of the Heartless, that is, until you and your twin brother came into the world. Then they just... Vanished, never seen again, though that didn't mean we would stop training warriors. It would be foolish to stop as it is the way of life here... As for your journey, you and your brother are the Children of Destiny seeing how that same prophecy stated that the twins were such children. But I digress, time is not on our side so the guess the role of informing you of your weapon and the enemies is needed of me... What would you like to know?" He asked me, way too calm about the idea of the world ending. I figured I should ask the more pressing questions I have.

"What is a Keyblade? What does it do? Why do you think I have to go on some magical quest?" I asked him in rapid fire order, panic somewhat evident in my voice.

"Well, a Keyblade is a weapon told to bring both destruction and salvation, to balance out the light and the darkness. As to what it does, It can unlock just about anything, it can help the user cast powerful magic, and it is said that it is the only weapon that can truly destroy a heartless, though it is said to be effective against Nobodies as well. As to what you have to do.. Save as many people that are close to you as you can. It is likely you will have to take on the role of a Warrior of Light as your heart is nearly all darkness while Shawn's is nearly all light. You two are very much like Yin and Yang if that makes any sense."

"But how do we know when things get apocalyptic?! And what is a Nobody? Or even a Heartless for that matter?!" I yelled slightly from frustration at the growing amount of questions.

"The funny thing is, we don't. We get to just wait and see for when that moment comes. A Nobody... is the shell of a strongly willed person who's heart was stolen by a Heartless, or if they gave into the darkness that lingers in every heart. They are far more difficult to defeat compared to a Heartless as they can plan and adapt. There was a case of of a human looking Nobody here once, a powerful warrior lost her heart to the Darkness within it and formed a Nobody as a side result of becoming a Heartless. She looked just like she did in life but she had no heart, no emotions, and no morals. We lost many warriors trying to defeat her but she escaped into the Realm of Darkness. Heartless... are exactly what their name implies; Heartless creatures of evil that form from the Darkness in one's heart. They mindlessly collect hearts, more than likely an attempt to recover what has been stolen from them and can come in all shapes and sizes. Be Vigilant, as Heartless creatures are drawn to darkness and as such, will come after you endlessly once you begin your journey to other worlds." He said, staring into the drink in his hands to watch the reflection from his tea.

"Thank you for clearing that up, and how do you even know about that? I thought that was just a dream..." I told him, making him laugh somewhat. "What's so damned funny?"

"I don't mean to laugh but it's just I'm a Prophet of Visons, You know, someone who helps the council with prophesies and gives advice. By the way... Your new blade is a hand me down, though I honestly have no idea how it got to you." He told me, making me flush in embarrassment. How could I honestly forget my dad's freaking job?

"Wait, if it's a hand me down, Who gave me this thing?" I asked a bit more calm about the whole situation, though not by much.

"...Your mother was the previous wielder of that blade." He whispered just loud enough for me to hear and it was all it took to bring my world to a screeching halt.

"B-But she's been dead since the me and Shawn turned two..." I said a little panicked that my long deceased mother was the one who decided to give me a weapon like this. My father just chuckled a bit before looking me in the eyes. His sliver, tired eyes meeting my youthful, blood red.

"She probably wanted an insurance policy to keep you two safe, so to speak. She was always one to think ahead, and Lord knows how much she wanted to protect you and your brother, hell you even have her eyes." he said in a somewhat hollow tone, like the memories of her were killing him. He let out a guarded sigh before standing up from the table.

"Could you summon your Katana for me?" He ask me, earning a shake of my head.

"I don't know how to..." I told him truthfully, making him chuckle which made me glare at him distastefully.

"Just reach out your hand and will it to appear. It will show up, trust me." He told me with a closed eye smile, something often seen when he was with young students. Doing as he said, I reach out in front of me and willed for my new blade to appear. A flash of Darkness appeared and a familiar weight settled into my hand. The Dark faded and the katana from my dream appeared in my hand. My father sighed and looked sadly at the weapon.

"That's your Mother's weapon alright, she called it _Angel's Judgement..._ Though it looks different from when she wielded it somehow... Let me try something Em, lay your blade on the table." He said, more of a command than a question so I did as he asked. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes, summoning light in his left hand before throwing it onto the Katana in a blinding flash that forced me to cover my eyes. When I could finally see again, I looked at my weapon and saw that the appearance changed dramatically. The blade was no longer a dark red, it became white as snow and seemed to radiate light from the edge. The black tribal markings changed as well, to a dark, ocean blue. The hilt and hand guard both changed to the same color as the markings on the blade itself. I gently picked up the weapon, to get a better look at the markings on it, only for a dark flash to overcome the entire thing, changing back to it's prior design.

"It's as I thought, this weapon was drawn to the Light in your mother's heart, but now that you wield it, the Darkness inside of you has weakened the weapon, granted, it is still very powerful, but unless something is done, it won't ever reach it's true potential... I... Might have something for you in the morning to help mend the problem, for now, we'll just have to leave it be. For a bit of history that is not so well known, the Keyblade isn't the only weapon effective against the Heartless and Nobodies, anything can be rid of them so long as a weapon crafted from light, though they are incapable of permanently ridding the world of Heartless unless the wielder is pure in heart. ." He said before taking a deep breath and gesturing me to put away the weapon.

"While I hate to go against custom, I kinda have to here. Stand up for me if you would" he ordered me to do which I did without complaint. He gestured for me to kneel in front of him so again, I did as he asked.

"Emily May Branwen, I hereby declare you ready for combat against the forces of Darkness. You are free to travel off world to assist others in this everlasting war. If you fall in battle, May you find your way home to live in the hearts of your friends and family. May your blade be swift and your heart strong, you are now a Warrior of Light" he said, presenting me with a black shoulder guard with an iron badge of our union, the badge of a Fox.

"Now get some rest" he continued "The road ahead is long and treacherous, and it will have many challenges on it. It's up to you to overcome and beat those challenges" he said as he pulled me up to my feet. I simply gave a curt nod and left to my room to get some sleep for the night before remembering I needed to shower. 30 minutes and a shower later, I walked into my room.

'Something tells me that things are going to get very, very bad' I thought as I climbed into bed and let the long day melt away into a hopefully dreamless sleep.

The next day...

"WAKE UP LAZY BUTT!" A feminine voice screamed in my ear, basically throwing me out of bed in a tangled heap of blankets and sheets. I peered up from my temporary blanket prison and looked at Rose with an exasperated expression on my face.

"Why did you do this and how did you get in my room?" I asked her tiredly, not really happy to be awake so early before yawning into the blanket prison.

"Well, because I can and I climbed in through the window" she said pointing to my small skylight window.

"H-how did you even fit through that?!" I asked her, extremely confused, especially seeing how it's only a foot wide and long, if even that.

"A girl never gives her secrets away" she said with a flirtatious wink. I sighed before deadpanning at her.

"You do realize I sleep in just my Underwear right?" I asked her tiredly. She seemed to freeze at that statement before it finally sank in and she ran out of my room as quickly as she could, her face a dark red. She slammed the door shut behind her and With a wry chuckle, I untangled myself and quickly tossed on my combat attire. A quick check in the mirror to make sure my bed head wasn't too bad. With a nod of approval at my hair, I turned my gaze to my outfit. I was wearing a black tank top that had a Burning heart emblem right where my heart would be. It was long with red buckles going across to hold a pouch on each hip. I then put on my heavy, dark brown, cowboy duster, it reaching all the way down to my ankles. The outfit continued with black cargo pants that weren't too baggy and were extremely comfortable. The attire was finished with my black, steel-toed combat boots. I fastened my new shoulder guard onto my right shoulder, under my duster, a small chain hanging off of it and connecting to one of my buckles. I opened up my "weapons" closet and kinda just stared at the assortment of old katanas laying inside of it.

'Why did I have to lose my good katana?' I thought with a sigh 'I might as well grab my new one and see how it does' I continued before grabbing the newest looking sword of the bunch. It's black leather sheath shiny and unblemished, the blade itself extremely sharp. I checked the time to see it was 7am and, upon opening my door to the hall, I was met with a brutal right hook to the gut, knocking the air out of my lungs and launching me back into my room and into my dresser.

"WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME THAT SOONER!?" She all but screamed at me. Saying she was angry would be the biggest understatement in my 16 years of living, death may just claim me in about 10 seconds.

"My riiiibbs... Uhh... Because you never asked? And you have seen more than that since, you know, we had sleepovers all the time and you look pissed so I'm just gonna shut up now." I said, absolutely terrified of death glare sent my way by the normally bubbly girl. She began walking towards me with death in her eyes and had a smile that promised nothing but pain. She was about to draw her claymore but stopped in the middle of the motion and stared at my shoulder.

"You got promoted to Warrior?" She asked me quietly, almost in a whisper. How she even saw that under my coat is just baffling to even think about.

"Y-yeah, the council saw me fit for combat" I lied, not really wanting to expose the details of last night.

"When did this happen?" She asked me, slightly less angry but still perfectly willing to cut me into tiny, me shaped, pieces.

"Last night, they called me in about the time it started raining" I lied again, because I'm sure it is frowned upon for my father to promote me out of the blue like the way he did, I think it's nepotism or something like that... In the middle of my off topic tangent, Rose got really quiet and turned away before walking out of my room without a word, earning a sigh from myself.

"Something tells me that I'll have to deal with That eventually." I said aloud to myself as I pulled myself out of the remnants of my dresser and cast a Cure on myself to remedy the bruising I could feel already.

"I'd certainly say so" a voice full of mirth at my current situation sounded off from my right. I looked and saw my brother, sitting on my windowsill by my bed. He was a little taller than me, dressed in a black and white dress shirt/vest, black dress pants and he had a tower shield with an Ultra Greatsword strapped to his back. A keychain of a burning heart hanging from the hilt of his blade, a reminder of the woman who never came home from a mission. He had dark brown hair and his eyes were a molten sliver, much like our father's eyes.

"Why does nobody use the door like a normal person in this town?" I asked Shawn, earning a flippant shrug from him

"Because saying anyone in this town is normal is like saying birds don't fly." He said, stretching like a cat before hopping into my room the rest of the way with a half-assed grin.

"What's so funny man?" I asked him with a mildly annoyed tone. He looked at me with a smug look in his eyes before grinning more, a look that promised nothing but mischief.

"I didn't know you and Rose were that close of friends" he said in a suggestive tone while raising his eyebrows

"N-no! We're j-just friends man!" I quickly replied, wanting to avoid him getting the wrong idea.

"Me thinks thou dost protest too much!" He replied before diving out the window and catching a clothesline with his sheathed sword and shield, sliding far away from my room on the second story. I briefly watched his retreating form before sighing and slamming window shut while locking it.

"How did that not break the line?" I asked myself aloud. Then I came to a sound conclusion..." It's too early for all of this" I muttered under my breath before heading down stairs into the kitchen for the sweet sustenance of coffee. Sweet, sweet coffee...

"Uh Em? You're drooling." My dad dryly stated as he handed me a large cup of coffee. I snapped out of coffee induced trance and wiped my mouth of drool before graciously accepting the cup from my dad.

"You almost never call me that, what's going on?" I asked him, seeing the mischievous look on his face.

"I heard quite a bit of commotion this morning, you wouldn't have happened to have been making me grandkids with Rose now would you?" He teased as he leaned against the fridge.

"No! God no! Plus that isn't even physical possible you Senile, old bastard!" I yelled as stumbled over my words, flustered from his insinuation.

"I'm sure you loveeee her Em" he said with a shit eating grin making it's way onto his face. I glared at him heavily enough to make the light dim in the kitchen.

"I have no idea what you are talking about" I ground out, agitated at him even thinking that.

"First off, keep your emotions in check, the Darkness is leaking out of you again." He said, making me let out a small, surprised noise before reeling in the Darkness in my heart. My father just chuckled a bit before continuing "Secondly, I can see how much you like her Em, me and your mother were the same way for the longest time."

"Really? You and Mom were best friends for years before you two became a thing?" I asked, trying to picture this hardass of a man putting up with someone like Rose and her... Eccentricities.

"Yeah, though she wasn't... Colorful like your 'friend' is" He told me, even doing the finger quotes at the word friend, earning a facepalm from myself.

"Just because I'm close friends with Rose mean I'm in love with her for christ sake. For fuck sake, I'm not even interested in a relationship of any kind" I said in an agitated tone that was most certainly not a pout; earning a deep, rolling, belly laugh from my dad.

"Ahhh teenagers, I remember being that young, almost like it was yesterday." He said, his smile only growing larger over time so me being me, I decided to burst his bubble.

"What, when the dinosaurs roamed? When our town was founded? When man discovered fire?" I asked him, earning a heavy glare.

"I'm not that old you little shit, I can still whoop your ass, especially since your shield work is so damn atrocious." He said with a smirk that came from my reaction to his jab.

"How many times to I have to tell you, I'm a support fighter damn it! I use speed and magic, no brute force anywhere in my fighting style!" I yelled at him, making him smirk more which just served to piss me off further.

"I know that kid" he shot back calmly

"Shields are too slow for me and a lo- wait what?" I asked him, my anger and frustration vanishing from his admission.

"I know you don't use them but it was part of your training, it made you stronger since its far heavier than what you normally use. Strong enough to move at your almost normal battle speed while being weighted down, not to mention the leg weights I make you wear at all times." He said, making me realize that he was right, and I still had on said very heavy leg weights. I think I even showered with them on last night... I've gotten way too used to them. "And you learned how to fight defensively and how to fight in an unfavorable situation, making you more suited for fighting for real since fights in the real world are never always favorable for the good guy." He continued, again having a valid point for making put up with brutal training he put me through.

"Wait, if that's the reason for the training like that, then why not tell me that instead of constantly being mean?" I asked him, making him sigh and look away from me.

"Because keeping appearances was what was necessary when it came to your training" he said, making me curious about why he would have to do something like that, so I voiced my curiosity to him, earning a conflicted look from him before he finally responded.

"I'm sure you could guess as to why I had to do that Em" he said, making me bow my head somewhat, anger beginning to take hold in my heart.

"The Council wanted me to fail my training... Didn't they?" I asked, earning a sad nod from my father, causing the blood in my veins to boil in seething rage.

"What! How dare they! I can control myself just fine damn it! So What I'm Yin and Shawn is Yang! It's not like I'm going to fucking destroy the world!" I yelled, irritating my throat from the strain of it. I would have continued my well deserved rant, if my father had not dropped kicked me into the living room. With a loud crash, I smashed through the entertainment center and into the wall, nearly relieving me of my consciousness.

"Control yourself! You cannot, under any circumstances, lose your hold on your negative emotions. You know what would happen.." He said, gesturing to the _dark_ tainted floor I was standing on before being painfully flung into my current trench in the wall. I grimaced at the Darkness that was steaming from the kitchen tile before it was erased from existence from a blast of light, courtesy of my father. He sighed a bit before casting a Curaga on me to get me up and moving again.

"I know it's hard to take and I know it makes you angry, justifiably so, but you have to keep your emotions in check Emily, lest you want to be overcome by the Darkness that dwells within you." He told me, making me nod (well, as much as someone who's stuck in a wall could nod anyways).

"Come on, let's get you outta there and I'll clean up the mess, you go find your Girlfriend and kiss and make up" He said with another shit eating look on his face. God this day is already off to a bad start...

Shawn's POV...

'Stupid Emily, I don't get why dad is so lenient with her now, and what's this about her liking Rose too?' I thought as I ducked out of the window and started down the street. A few people waved to me but other than that, I was ignored for the most part.

'Probably since I'm related to the Dark heart of the town, like usual.' I thought darkly before reaching a small, vacant park on the edge of town. I sat down at a bench and just closed my eyes to breath.

"I wish I could explore other worlds already, I'm tired of doing the same thing day after day." I thought aloud to myself, seeing how I was alone at the moment.

"Your heart desires adventure? That is something I can grant you." A voice said from behind me, making me jump up and draw just my longsword. It was someone in an all Black coat. Judging by the person's stature and Voice, it was a woman. She was tall at about 5'9" with a seductive voice that had a pull to it, the kind of pull that would have men going to her beck and call. Her very presence bled authority and power, almost to the point I doubted I could win in a fight against her. _Almost_.

"Who are you? We don't have travel open to our world yet so you being here is trespassing, either leave immediately or face the consequences" I told her as I readied my tower shield and placed it in front me like a wall, just leaving enough visibility to keep a steady eye on the mysterious stranger.

"You would cast me out without even hearing my offer? It breaks my heart." She said as she clutched a black-gloved hand to where her heart is. I lowered my sword but kept my shield ready just in case she tried anything funny.

"Alright I'm listening, but if you try anything, I'll carve you up like a turkey, got it?" I told her as I relaxed ever so slightly.

"I seek a heart of pure light to aid my Quest to achieving peace. Would you happen to know anyone who holds such a heart? If you lead me to such a person, I shall lead you into an adventure of your dreams." She said as she gestured with her arms, holding them out on both sides in a wide stance. Something in my gut told me to run, to get away as fast as I could, but I ignored it and walked closer to the woman.

"My heart is nearly all Light, it is the purest one here in our town." I told her, my guard long abandoned. I could feel her look at me and I could swear, she was smiling.

"Then your adventure has already begun my friend" She said before disappearing. I felt strange about the whole encounter but before I could question the woman about her motives or why she came to me in the first place, I felt something behind me and turned, only a pure white blade to stab me in the heart, and for darkness to become all I would ever know...

Emily's POV, a few hours later

"Where the hell could she be hiding? It's not like she's the one who got put through her freaking dresser" I thought aloud to myself as I searched through the endless alleyways, parks, and plazas of the blue-purple themed town. With a sigh, I sat on the star shaped fountain and watched the town's people walk by before averting my gaze to the water behind me since, well, the amount of glares and hateful looks being sent my way kinda hurt to see.

"I don't think I'll ever be used to that..." I thought to myself as I tossed some Munny into the fountain.

"Be used to what Emmy?" Someone asked me from right next to me, making me nearly jump right out of my skin and into the frigid water of the fountain.

"Don't scare me like that Rose! I damn near fell into the fountain!" I yelled at her, earning only an adorable giggle from the odd girl.

"That would have been funny! And you didn't answer my question~" She sang in a teasing voice, trying to get underneath my skin. And it was starting to work far too well for me to be happy with.

"It wouldn't have been funny! It would have sucked soo much" I said with a barely contained pout. I can feel her staring into the back of my head. Must not look, must not- Okay I looked and she's giving me puppy dog eyes.

"So Cuuutee!" She squealed and tackled me onto the cold, stone ground.

"Get off! Why are you so heavy Rose?! Do you have bricks in your magic pouch again?"

"Maayybe... What's that?" She asked me as she pointed at something from her position on top of me. I struggled to look up and around her to see Dark storm clouds rolling in at an abnormal pace.

"Get off, and I'll freaking tell you what it is, you big dolt!" I told her as I managed to roll her off of me. After helping Rose to her feet, I looked more closely at the now dark sky and felt an overwhelming amount of dread in my heart.

"I don't like any of this Emmy, something is wrong here. Very wrong." Rose said as I heard the metallic * _Shing_ * of her Claymore being drawn. "Where did everyone go? I have a bad feeling" she continued and couldn't help but nod in agreement with her. This is usually the busiest part of town during the day, for it to be empty excluding me and her is... Unsettling to say the least. I felt a chill run down my spine as I reached to draw my katana from my hip, only for my eyes to widen in shock as I grasped nothing but air.

'I must have left it at the house after cleaning up the mess in the living room!' I thought frantically as the Black creatures from my dream started appearing around me and Rose, their yellow eyes staring into what felt like my very soul. My breath caught in my throat and my vision blurred as I stared back, a feeling of helplessness washing over me like a tidal wave of pure, unadulterated fear. It would have worsened from there but _Angel's Judgement_ appeared in my right hand, setting my mind somewhat at ease at the knowledge that could at least attempt to fight off the encroaching Darkness. With a quick breath and a moment of silence, We went on the attack. Rose using her superior strength and reach to clear out entire groups with a single swing, while I used my advanced magical knowledge and speed to quickly and precisely dispatch Heartless that would try to get into our blindspots. All told, we are a great team and very few of our peers, outside of teachers and my brother, could beat us. We are an unstoppable force to clear out the dark and usher in the light. At least... That's what we thought. With a scream, our unstoppable force was shattered like glass against a brick wall. Rose failed to see a hooded stranger until the last second and by then, it was too late and paid the price with a deep slice into her stomach which threw her into me, and subsequently into an empty warehouse that holds the goods of the business district. I looked with blurry vision to see the mysterious stranger readying a simple dagger for the killing blow on Rose.

"GET AWAY FROM HER!" I shouted out as I reached into the Darkness within, and unleashed it in a powerful wave that threw the hooded person back into the pandemonium outside. I rushed over to Rose and concentrated for a few seconds to cast a Curaga, hopefully healing her enough to get her back into the fight or at least for her to get somewhere safe.

"You okay Rose? You gave me quite the scare there" I told her with a light giggle. She nodded and I pulled her up to her feet and nearly collapsed against her with a pained gasp, my heart already reeling from using the Dark.

"Shit! Emmy! You know you're not supposed to use that at all!" She yelled at me as she reached into one of my pockets and pulled out some of my personal medicine before force feeding me the bitter drink. I felt strength beginning to return into my limbs as the cold grip on my heart began to loosen and fade until it was nothing more than a dull, throbbing sensation.

"So there's that powerful Darkness that I have been feeling since my arrival. To think, it rests in the heart of a mere child, a little girl no less." The Hooded Stranger said, her voice full of arrogance and what seemed to be mirth. Rose set me down onto the ground and readied her Claymore, anger filling her eyes to the point where it could be felt in the air around her.

"You stay away from her, I don't know what you're after, but you're not going to lay a finger on her" Rose told the hooded woman, earning nothing more than a dark chuckle from the hooded woman while I began to struggle to my feet.

"Oh I'm not going to touch her at all, you have my word on that." She said assuredly, crossing her arms over her chest as she leaned against the wall. As I stood up fully, I heard the clanking of metal behind me and turned just in time to only barely deflect a large blade from splitting me into two.

"Although, I can't say the same for my associate, he's rather quick to anger after all." The woman said with a giggle that somehow was evil and innocent all at once. She continued the ever disturbingly _innocent-yet-evil_ giggle as i jumped back from the Greatsword wielding man. In a mote of darkness, a heavy tower shield appeared in the man's off hand, sending a painful spike of familiarity through my very soul.

"Please... Don't let that be you... Shawn. TELL ME THAT ISN'T YOU!" I all but screamed desperately at the man, earning a sinister laugh that only confirmed my fears and plunged me further down into despair.

"Oh my dear twin sister, I'm only trying to free you from our curse! To free you from the pain!" He cooed out in a shockingly sweet as he planted his sword into the ground and drew back his hood. Dark brown hair and molten silver eyes that seemed to glow unnaturally in the dark. I heard the sound of steel meeting steel behind me but couldn't register what was happening around me, time seemed to hold still my brother, or what was left of the person I knew him as, charged me shield first. I felt my feet move on their own as I charged in return, a scream pulling itself from my throat as my weapon met his in a shower of sparks. For a split second, everything was crystal clear, then everything quickly dove back into chaos and I fell back onto the defensive.

 _'Parry, dodge left, sweep kick, jump over a sweep kick, block, retreat, jump again,_ Shit!' my thoughts of my actions came to a brutal stop when Shawn shield bashed me straight through a wall, and back into the pandemonium outside. I heard a pained scream and felt someone land on top of me, surprising me enough to push whoever it was off.

"Ugnn... Why does such a small blade hit like a sledgehammer?" Rose asked she struggled to her feet. Surprisingly, her words gave me an idea. A very Bad idea.

"Hey Rose? Remember those lessons in class about the warriors of old traveling on waves of light?" I asked her as I began to reach inwards.

"This isn't time for a history lesson!... But yes I do" she said quietly as she stood up, clutching her right shoulder with a pained expression her face. I let out a heavy sigh as I reached out with my left hand and let the Dark I've been pooling inside out through it and onto the ground in front of me. It coalesced into a Portal of Darkness, showing that my idea actually freaking worked.

"I don't know how long I can hold this open Rose. We need to move through it now!" I told her as I felt the soul crushing cold beginning to seep into bones from using the Dark like this.

"But what about the town?" She asked as parts of the town began to crumple away and were pulled towards the sky where a massive ball of Darkness would consume the bits and pieces of my home. One look at that and it pretty much answered the question for her. "Okay, through the scary, evil, Dark portal you made we go!" she said in a cheery that was painfully obvious to be fake. She jumped straight into the portal I created. With one last look at the collapsing town I moved to go through the portal... Until it closed before me.

"What?! No, no, no, no! Why did it close! WHY?!" I yelled as I fell to my knees and punched the stone ground, fear and anger over taking my mind.

"Oh little one, how did you think I came here? Who do you think showed your dear brother his true make? Portals of Darkness are quite tricky business! They respond to any who's true strength lie in the Dark. Then again, you probably wouldn't understand, you are quite weak." A Voice called out from behind me, shortly followed by a boot-encased foot to crash into my side and drive the wind from my lungs as I was thrown to the side. As I gasped for air in a vain attempt to re-inflate my lungs, I looked up from my landing place to see my brother and the stranger. I quickly stood upon shaky legs as I continued to gasp for any oxygen I could not get.

"She really is weak! Look at her shake!" My brother called out with a chuckle, clearly happy with his odds. And why wouldn't he be? I can't win here, nowhere to retreat to and I would lose horribly in a fight against the both of them. Unless I did something really stupid... Yep. Stupid it is. With a strained breath, I leapt into the ball of Darkness that was slowly eating my home, and Darkness became all I knew...

 **A/N: Cheese and rice, that was Probably my longest chapter of anything I have ever written on this site. About 10k words of story alone... Anyway, I can't promise regular updates since I tend to have the attention span of a squirrel on cocaine. I will do my best to upload as often as possible though, to avoid Sierra murdering me in a slow and gruesome manner. *grumbles* evil wench.**

 **S: I think you just volunteered to be my practice dummy for MMA *evil smiles***

 **A/N:...All joy is gone now... Read, review, do what floats your boat, bye!**


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